It was no coincidence that the government’s pre-budget document and the Malta Labour Party’s collection of plans for the country’s future were published within a few days of each other.

The government, on 21 July, published its now customary pre-budget consultative document, which paves the way for what should be the last budget of this legislature which, it became known later, is again to be presented some time in mid-October.

The document presented by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was drawn up after a series of consultation meetings, as well as the taking into consideration of hundreds of emails, faxes and letters that the Office of the Prime Minister received over the past months. It will now be publicly debated before the budget is presented.

The opposition replied on 30 July by publishing what the party has called a “plan for a new start”, which is a compilation of all the vision statements made by the MLP over the past years.

It deals with the various areas that make up our society and our livelihood and, again, it was compiled after the party carried out a long consultation process – before and after each document – that ultimately led to some changes before the publication of this final version. Like with the pre-budget document, the MLP will also continue its consultation meetings to discuss its proposals.

Both documents come at a crucial time in the legislature, as both parties gear up for the ultimate test, the general election, which will be held in a few months’ time. They are, of course, not to be taken as the parties’ respective election manifesto – even because one must make a distinction, in the PN’s case, between government and party – but we believe that little will change when we come to the crux of the matter.

As usually happens in the political game we have come to know so well, soon after the publication of the two documents, the cross-accusations began.

The Labour Party insists that some of the measures that the government included in its pre-budget document were suggestions put forward by Labour, with leader Alfred Sant snidely remarking that 29 of them were “cut and paste(d)” from proposals that had been made by the MLP.

On the other hand, Nationalist Party exponents are belittling the MLP document, saying that it contains nothing of substance and that most of the suggestions that have been made have already been implemented or are on the government’s agenda.

We expect more of this as the election approaches, and this is no news.

One can argue for days on the measures and counter-measures, but one common factor that stands out is that both the government and the opposition lay a lot of emphasis on the fact that the documents were presented after hours of consultation with the public in general and with various entities and organisations on particular issues.

It is a matter that deserves to be highlighted, because very often, political parties – and especially those in government – are accused of ignoring what the people want and of taking action without considering the opinion of others. Of course, now that the election is close by, they will be doing their best to be close to the people and be seen to be close to the people, as this will play an important part in how the people will eventually vote.

In a day and age where communication has become much easier, political parties must always do their best to keep in touch with the people and listen to their woes, suggestions and ideas. The party that manages to absorb what the people’s wishes are and intelligently translate them into its plans for the overall good of the country stands a much better chance of making it to government.